Q&A Hero

Q: Mack's Bar sent Olive Outlet an order for 200 cases of olives, to be shipped "as soon as possible." The day Olive Outlet receives Mack's order it does not have 200 cases of olives in stock, so it sends Mack 140 cases of olives and 60 cases of onions. Olive Outlet notifies Mack that they are shipping the onions in lieu of olives. Later that day, Mack phones the Outlet and tries to revoke his offer. Under the UCC, which of the following statements holds true to this situation? A. Mack's bar must accept the shipment as they were notified. B. Olive Outlet has accepted and breached the contract. C. Olive Outlet's shipment is considered a counteroffer. D. Mack's bar must reject the shipment as the goods are nonconforming.

Q: Under the UCC, an order requesting "prompt" shipment of goods: A. requires acceptance via writing within a "reasonable" time frame. B. impliedly invites acceptance only by a prompt promise to ship. C. impliedly invites acceptance only by a prompt shipment of goods. D. invites acceptance by either a prompt promise to ship or by prompt shipment of the goods.

Q: On October 25, 1989, Mina Loy sent a letter to Carl Van Vechten which said, "I hereby offer to hire you to paint my house for $4,000 during Thanksgiving break. Your acceptance of this offer must be by first-class mail and must reach me no later than noon on November 1, 1989." Vechten was so excited when he received her letter that he telephoned Loy on October 26 and said "I accept." Which of the following is a true statement? A. There is a valid acceptance and a binding contract because the telephone call was an authorized means of acceptance. B. There is a valid acceptance and a binding contract because the telephone call was a reasonable means of acceptance. C. There is a valid acceptance and a binding contract because the telephone call was a faster means of acceptance than the mail. D. There is no acceptance and no contract in this situation as it is clearly mentioned by the offeror that the acceptance must be by mail.

Q: A stipulation: A. is a condition made by the offeror about the manner in which the offer must be accepted. B. is a contingency clause built into a unilateral contract. C. requires acceptance in writing, else the attempt to accept becomes ineffective. D. needs a timely expression of acceptance.

Q: The offeree may accept an offer within a reasonable time by any reasonable means of communication: A. if the parties are dealing by telephone. B. if the offeror suggests a method or a place of communication in the offer. C. if the written offer is lost in transit. D. if the offer merely suggests a method or place of communication or is silent on these points.

Q: Laura Riding offered to sell Louis Zukofsky a tract of land. The offer was complete and certain as to all material terms. The offer stated that a telegraphed acceptance was required. Within a reasonable time, Louis telephoned Laura to accept. Which is a true statement about this situation? A. Louis can use promissory estoppel to enforce a contract here. B. As this case involved a sale of goods, Louis's telephone call would be a good acceptance. C. Louis has not accepted and there is no contract. D. Louis has accepted because a telephone call is a reasonable means of acceptance.

Q: Yael sent Jen an offer to sell his mountain bike for $150. After thinking about the offer for a few days, Jen sent Yael a letter accepting his offer and asking if he intended to leave the book basket attached to the bike. The next day, before Jen's letter arrived, Yael phoned Jen and told her that he had decided to sell his bike to Jake, who had offered him $200. Which of the following statements hold true of this case? A. Jen used unauthorized means of acceptance. B. Jen's acceptance was good and a contract was created when Jens' letter was mailed. C. Yael could revoke the contract as the goods had not exchanged hands yet. D. The contract was not valid as the UCC held acceptances to be valid only when they were received and acknowledged in writing by the offeror.

Q: In a unilateral contract, the offer is accepted when: A. the offeror verbalizes his assent. B. the offeree attempts to perform the act. C. the offeror puts across his promise in writing. D. the offeree performs the requested act.

Q: If Gwen hands Lisa a detailed offer for the purchase of Lisa's pottery wheel and Lisa signs the offer without changing any of its terms: A. the parties have created a bilateral contract. B. the parties have created a contingent contract. C. the parties have created a unilateral contract. D. the parties have created a multilateral contract.

Q: To create acceptance to an offer for a bilateral contract: A. the offeree must perform the act requested by the offeror. B. silence will never constitute acceptance of an offer. C. acceptance must always be properly communicated to the offeror. D. an offeror is allowed to word his or her offer so that the offeree will be bound to the contract.

Q: Under both the UCC and the common law, the acceptance cannot materially vary from the offer: A. only in the sale of real estate and services. B. only in sale of goods when the contract is made by the exchange of forms. C. in the sale of real estate, services, and in sale of goods when forms are not exchanged. D. when silence is the mode of acceptance.

Q: Jane tells Mark, she would pay him $50 if Mark finds her lost bag. This is an example of a: A. bilateral contract. B. unilateral contract. C. contingent contract. D. multilateral contract.

Q: Under the UCC, when acceptance is made expressly conditional on agreement to new terms and the parties begin performance: A. a contract is created. B. no contract is created. C. only a written stipulation will make the contract enforceable. D. mere silence on the part of the offeree when new terms are added is not an acceptance.

Q: Under the UCC Rule 2-207 for the sale of goods when a contract is made by the exchange of forms, when the acceptance form has terms additional to or different from the offer: A. no contract will result because the acceptance form will be considered as a counteroffer and thus an implicit rejection of the offer. B. a contract can result, but the differing terms may not be part of the contract. C. a contract can result, and the differing terms must be included as part of that contract. D. no contract will result because the acceptance form will not be considered as a counteroffer.

Q: According to the UCC's rule, when forms are not exchanged: A. acceptance cannot materially vary from the offer. B. acceptance can have terms additional to the offer. C. differing terms must be included as a part of the contract. D. though the acceptance varies from the offer, it cannot be considered as a rejection.

Q: If an authorized means of acceptance is expressly present, any attempt by the offeree to accept by a nonauthorized means is effective upon dispatch.

Q: Under the UCC's "battle of the forms": A. timely expression of acceptances creates a contract even if it includes terms that are different from those stated in the offer. B. timely expression of acceptances creates a contract only if it includes terms that are identical to those stated in the offer. C. if one of the parties is a merchant, the additional terms in the offeree's form are included in the agreement. D. no contract is created when the attempted acceptance is expressly conditional on the offeror's agreement to the terms of the acceptance.

Q: Under the UCC, if the parties are both merchants, additional terms in the offeree's form may be included in the agreement unless: A. the offer expressly limited acceptance to its own terms. B. the new terms materially abide the offer. C. the offeror gives notice of objection to the new terms without considering time limit. D. the offeree clearly makes a counteroffer by expressly rejecting the offer.

Q: If one or both parties to a form contract are nonmerchants, the additional terms proposed by one of the parties are treated as: A. void. B. proposals for addition to the contract. C. revocation. D. expressly conditional.

Q: Explain the special problems associated with the bidding process in construction works to the general contractor, if the subcontractor is allowed to revoke the offer.

Q: What are the factors that influence the reasonable length of an offer?

Q: How do courts deal with the situation in which an offeror tries to revoke an offer for a unilateral contract after the offeree has begun acceptance, but before he has completely accepted the offer?

Q: A seller cannot accept a buyer's offer by simply promising to ship the goods or by shipping the goods.

Q: A unilateral contract trick is, a dishonest seller who has received a "rush" order sending the wrong goods, hoping that the buyer's necessity will force him to accept.

Q: Brian offers to sell Jerry his Ranch house but a hurricane destroys the house before Jerry accepts the offer. What would be the possible outcome of this offer? A. A written statement must be produced to the court of law, to terminate the offer. B. If the offer is not revoked within a week after the incident took place, the offer is considered to be open and Jerry can claim the recovery charges. C. Jerry must be paid the recovery charges for losing the house as he had already been offered by Brian. D. The offer is terminated when the house is destroyed as it happened without the knowledge or fault of either of the parties.

Q: What is an offer? What are the three conditions necessary for the creation of an offer?

Q: Stan read an ad in the newspaper which said that the jackpot for picking the six winners in the dog race on the last night of the season was $825,000. Stan went that night and correctly picked the winners. However, it turned out that the newspaper had made a mistake. The jackpot was $25,000, not $825,000. Therefore the track owners refused to pay the latter amount. If this ad is treated like offers of reward, can Stan collect the $825,000?

Q: Which of the following would terminate an offer without notice to the offeree? A. Enactment of a statute making the contract illegal after acceptance. B. Physical inability of the offeree to perform. C. Promissory estoppel. D. Insanity of either party.

Q: A counteroffer: A. impliedly rejects an offer. B. does not significantly alter the material terms of the contract. C. is a mirror-image of the offer. D. is an inquiry into the terms of the offer.

Q: Which of the following statements about offers is true? A. Any definite offer made by a merchant is a "firm offer" under the UCC. B. An offer is effective upon dispatch. C. A grumbling acceptance is a rejection and terminates the offer. D. The death of the offeror will terminate the offer immediately.

Q: Schwartz, a painter, offers to sell a painting entitled "The Riverside Damsel" to Grimgerde for $50. Grimgerde responds that she needs more time to think about Schwartz's offer. Then Schwartz dies and the value of the painting escalates. Grimgerde calls Schwartz's widow, Waltraute, and says "I accept Schwartz's offer." Which of the following statements is true? A. There is a binding contract entitling Grimgerde to the painting. B. There is a binding contract entitling Grimgerde to the painting if she did not know Schwartz was dead when she called Waltraute. C. There is no binding contract entitling Grimgerde to the painting under any circumstances. D. There is no binding contract entitling Grimgerde to the painting unless Grimgerde actually pays Waltraute the $50.

Q: Walter puts an ad in the paper as follows: "$500 reward for the return of my golden ring." Albrecht finds the ring and returns it to Walter, but he refuses to pay Albrecht the $500. Which of the following statements is true regarding this case? A. Because the ad was merely a solicitation of offers, there was no contract until Walter accepted Albrecht's offer to find the ring. B. Albrecht may not recover the money because he did not contact Walter before he began his search. C. Because Albrecht did not pay Walter to keep the offer open, Walter is free to revoke and need not pay Albrecht anything. D. The ad was an offer for a unilateral contract, which Albrecht accepted by returning the ring; Walter is therefore bound to pay Albrecht the $500.

Q: To avoid problems, many courts hold a contract to be bilateral: A. only as a last possible resort. B. whenever possible. C. in a way different from the approach taken by the "Restatement." D. occasionally.

Q: Bob Hunter, a merchant, makes an offer to Linda, another merchant, to buy 1,000 of her widgets in a signed letter containing all necessary terms of the offer. The letter states that Hunter will keep the offer open for three weeks from the day the offeree receives it. One week later, Hunter writes Linda another letter attempting to revoke his offer. Linda writes Hunter a letter accepting Hunter's original offer before she receives his revocation. What is the result? A. Linda's acceptance is effective and a contract is created. B. Hunter's revocation is effective and no contract is created. C. Promissory estoppel prevents the formation of a contract in this situation. D. Since it is an option offer, it cannot be revoked.

Q: Gavin tells Rod that he will pay him $400 to paint his house. Rod starts to paint, intending to accept. Halfway through his paint job, Gavin tells Rod that he wants to revoke the offer. Under this scenario: A. Gavin is not allowed to revoke because the contract is unilateral. B. Gavin is allowed to revoke, but is liable to Rod for the reasonable value of benefit received. C. Gavin may not revoke because the contract is bilateral. D. Gavin is allowed to revoke if he finds Rod's efforts half-hearted or ineffective.

Q: The doctrine of promissory estoppel does not require: A. a promise. B. a significant reliance on a promise. C. an injustice as a result of reliance. D. a consideration.

Q: A subcontractor's bid: A. is considered an offer. B. can be revocable. C. can be withdrawn even if the general contractor has relied on it. D. is considered to be a part of a shrinkwrap agreement.

Q: An offeree who attempts to accept after an offer has terminated is making: A. an offer. B. a solicitation. C. a revocation. D. a counteroffer.

Q: If an offer does not state a time for acceptance, it is: A. valid for a reasonable time, which depends on the circumstances of the offer. B. valid for 10 days from the day the offer is made. C. valid for 20 days from the day the offer is received by the offeree. D. valid until the offeree accepts it.

Q: Which of the following basic requirements must be met, for an offer to sell goods to be a firm offer? A. It must contain assurances that it'll be revocable. B. The offeror must be a merchant. C. It must have been made orally. D. It is revocable for the period of time stated in the offer.

Q: In an option contract: A. a separate contract for the limited purpose of holding the offer open is created. B. the offeree is bound to accept the offer. C. a joint contract is created for the limited purpose of keeping the offer open. D. the offeree has purchased the right to accept within the stated period.

Q: Advertisements for rewards, such as for the return of lost property, information, or the capture of criminals, are generally: A. held to be invitations but not offers. B. held to be offers for unilateral contracts. C. held to be offers for bilateral contracts. D. held to be firm offers.

Q: In an auction: A. acceptance occurs when an offeror makes the highest bid. B. bidders are treated as offerors, making offers the seller is free to accept or reject. C. an item cannot be withdrawn from sale prior to acceptance. D. the seller is required to accept the final offer when the auction is advertised as being "with reserve."

Q: According to the CISG, an offer: A. must be directed to a specific person. B. must express the quality of the goods to be valid. C. is not valid, if it impliedly provides means of determining the quantity of the goods. D. is sufficiently definite, though it lacks the price terms.

Q: Beck tells his mom that he is thinking of selling his vintage coupe to his neighbor, Sam, for $100. Beck's mom calls Sam and tells him about her conversation with Beck. Sam then calls Beck and tells him that he accepts his offer. Under these circumstances: A. the offer has been effectively communicated. B. the offer has been conditionally tendered. C. the offer has not been communicated. D. the offer violates the UCC's rule against third-party interveners in quasi-contracts.

Q: Which of the following statements about shrinkwrap contracts is true? A. The label on the shrinkwrap states that by removing the shrinkwrap, the buyer accepts the terms of the software seller's licensing agreement. B. Shrinkwrap contracts are enforceable even when the terms violate contract rules such as unconscionability. C. The practice of using shrinkwraps never raises ethical problems like those involved in the use of small print, complex, or "hidden" language. D. Critics point out that all the consumers understand the contract before accepting the terms and conditions.

Q: Ads for the sale of goods at a specified price are considered as ________ by the courts. A. giving everyone who sees the ad the power to bind into a contract B. solicitation of an offer C. an unfair offer D. invitations to negotiate

Q: Advertisements are regulated outside of contract law by: A. the UCC. B. the Restatement. C. the Federal Trade Commission. D. the CISG.

Q: Under the UCC, a sales contract can be created: A. if the contract is reduced to writing. B. in any manner sufficient to show agreement, including conduct. C. when the offeror forms subjective intent to contract. D. when the contract contains the price terms.

Q: When parties fail to expressly agree on the terms of a sales contract: A. the contract is automatically void. B. the contract will fail if the court finds that the parties are acting as though they have a contract and it is impossible to point to a particular moment in time when the contract was created. C. the contract will not be enforceable under the UCC. D. the contract will not fail if the court finds that the parties intended to make a contract and that their agreement is complete enough to allow the court to reach a fair settlement of their dispute.

Q: In an agreement between two parties, if the facts indicate that a term was left out because the parties were unable to reach an agreement about it, it would probably mean that: A. the CISG must fill in the gaps only if the price terms are left in the agreement. B. the party's intent to contract and CISG must fill in any gaps left in the agreement. C. the UCC must fill in any gaps left in the agreement. D. the intent to contract is absent, and no contract was created.

Q: Kyle offered to sell Pam 500 television sets. Kyle is the: A. offeree. B. agent. C. offeror. D. distributor.

Q: When the offeror does not specifically indicate what he/she was willing to do and what he/she wanted the offeree to agree to do in return, his/her behavior will probably be classed as: A. a quasi-contract. B. an offer. C. an invitation to negotiate. D. an invitation to bid.

Q: Which of the following must be present for an offer to have a legal effect? A. Invitation to offer B. Communicating the intention to make an offer C. Invitation to negotiate D. Definiteness

Q: Which of the following authorities requires that, at minimum, the terms of the offer must be sufficiently clear so that what was promised can be determined? A. The UCC only. B. The common law and the Restatement. C. The UCC and the Restatement. D. The CISG and the UCC.

Q: If an offeree accepts the offer but complains about the terms of the offer, a rejection is implied.

Q: An offeree who makes an inquiry about the terms of the offer has made a counteroffer, and has terminated the offer by rejecting it.

Q: If the subject matter of a proposed contract is destroyed without the knowledge of either party after the making of an offer but before its acceptance, the offer cannot be terminated.

Q: To determine whether the offeror has created a present intent to contract, courts consider: A. how the offer was made. B. whether the offeror has communicated it to the offeree. C. the intent of the parties subjectively. D. the status of the person who has made the offer.

Q: In a bidding process the owner of the project or a general contractor who wants to farm out a portion of a large job to a subcontractor are generally held to have made an invitation to offer.

Q: An offer by itself does not include terms that limit its life.

Q: The timing of prior dealings is relevant when determining a reasonable time for acceptance, if the parties have dealt with each other on a regular basis.

Q: An option contract is created when the offeree gives the offeror something of value in exchange for a promise not to revoke the offer for a stated period of time.

Q: The general rule is that an offeror cannot revoke an offer at any time prior to acceptance if he has promised not to revoke for a stated period of time.

Q: When the parties to a contract do not expressly agree on all the terms of their contract, it prevents the creation of a contract.

Q: The CISG is similar to the UCC in that it considers an offer sufficiently definite if it lacks price terms.

Q: The courts have generally held that ads for the sale of goods at a specified price are treated as invitations to negotiate or to make an offer.

Q: In deciding a contract dispute, courts look to the subjective intent of the parties.

Q: The main thing that courts look for in deciding whether the parties entered into a contract is a "meeting of the minds" between the parties.

Q: Courts have traditionally said they are contract makers, not enforcers.

Q: The modern trend is for courts to tolerate more open and missing terms in offers.

Q: How does the Uniform Commercial Code define "merchant"? Why does the UCC distinguish between merchants and non-merchants?

Q: Explain the differences and similarities of the categories used to classify contracts by their enforceability: valid, unenforceable, voidable, void.

Q: (p. 179, 180) Jerry's Juice Joint sends Mango Mart an order for 20 cases of mangoes at $100 per case. Mango Mart sends Jerry's an acknowledgement form accepting the order. Using concepts discussed in this chapter, describe the type of contract between Jerry's and Mango Mart.

Q: What is a quasi-contract?

Q: Regarding promissory estoppel most courts: A. follow the requirements for promissory estoppel set forth in the "Restatement (Second) of Contracts" because the "Restatement" is the law. B. follow the requirements for promissory estoppel set forth in the "Restatement (Second) of Contracts" despite the fact that the "Restatement" does not carry the force of law. C. do not follow the requirements for promissory estoppel set forth in the "Restatement (Second) of Contracts" despite the fact that the "Restatement" carries the force of law. D. do not follow the "Restatement" as it does not carry the force of law.

Q: Discuss the importance of having contracts in today's market economy.

Q: A quasi contract is: A. a contract that has been fully performed. B. a contract where terms are stated orally only. C. contract like duties imposed by the court to prevent unjust enrichment. D. an agreement which contains all but one of the basic elements needed to form an enforceable contract.

Q: Joe pays Ann to mow his lawn and Ann mows Danna's lawn by mistake. Danna peeps out her window and sees Ann mowing, yet says nothing to Ann about her mistake since Danna needs to have her lawn mowed. When Ann approaches Danna for payment, Danna refuses, arguing that she had never asked Ann to mow her lawn. Under these circumstances, Ann can recover payment from Danna under: A. void contract. B. quasi contract. C. executory contract. D. express contract.

Q: The doctrine of promissory estoppel: A. makes the contracts unenforceable. B. does not make promises enforceable. C. protects bargains, not reliance. D. protects reliance, not bargains.